Demigods & Drabbles
by Faye C. Marie
Summary: Have you ever wondered about the stuff that goes on at Camp Half-Blood, the stuff that Rick Riordan didn't tell us? Almost everyone has. Here are some of my ideas, in drabble form. Rated T just in case.
1. Soap Operas

**A/N: Hey everyone! I've had some PJO drabbles on my mind for awhile, and they've prevented me from working on my other story. So I've decided to post a few of these to get it out of my system. Most likely this will be a twoshot or threeshot, but I will do more if I a) people want me to post more or b) I have the need to write a few more drabbles. Anyways, here it is!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or any of the characters (no matter how much I want to have it). Rick Riordan gets all the credit for pretty much everything except the plot for this. **

Soap Operas

"Annabeth, wait up!" Percy called as he ran after his girlfriend. "That didn't mean anything!"

"Really? Then why were you kissing Drew in the first place?" Annabeth yelled. She had been walking down to the beach after dinner when she saw Percy, her _boyfriend_, kissing _Drew_, the slimy, superficial daughter of Aphrodite. Annabeth ran into her cabin and threw herself down on her bed. How could he do that to her? It wasn't fair, or right, or good at _all._ A tear slipped out of her eye and hit her pillow. Thank gods her siblings were all at the campfire. She didn't want any of them to see her cry.

There was a knock at the door. "Annabeth, please let me in!" Percy said. His voice was muffled and pained. "I need to talk to you!"

"Go away!" Annabeth cried. She didn't want him to see her yet. She needed to think. She needed to compose herself. She needed to—

_Smash!_ Percy was suddenly standing in the frame where the door once was. Annabeth stood up.

"Why the Hades did you kick in the door?" she asked, brushing the last couple of tears out of her eyes.

"You weren't going to let me in!" Percy replied indignantly. "Annabeth, I am so sorry. Drew just came up to me and kissed me! There is _nothing_ between us. Please forgive me."

"No!" Annabeth screamed as she grabbed a book off a nearby table and threw it at Percy's head. Her sadness turned into anger. He must have had a lot of nerve to come and try to talk to her now. "How can I believe you? I can't trust you anymore apparently! We're—"

"Annabeth!" Percy interrupted. "I only want to be with you! I gave up immortality for you! I left Calypso's island for you! I went across the country to save you! I held up the sky for you, literally! When I bathed in the River Styx, I saw _you_. _You_ got me out of the water. I love you, not some Aphrodite girl who only cares about her looks." He looked mad, but calmed down as he said the last sentence.

Percy crossed the room to where Annabeth was standing. She was shocked. Her thoughts were racing. _Did he just say he loves me?_ she thought. _No, I must have heard him wrong. He doesn't love me. And what was he saying about the River __Styx__? Does he mean—_

"Annabeth," Percy whispered, sliding his arms around her "I love you. Why would I go off and kiss another girl?" and at that, he pressed his lips to hers. She pushed him away. He looked hurt, but then Annabeth said, "I forgive you."

Percy smiled. He locked lips with his girlfriend again, and this time, she kissed back. They stood there, kissing, until someone behind them burst out laughing. The two pulled away from another and turned around to see half the camp in the doorway, watching them. Most of the Aphrodite girls had tears in their eyes, but everyone else was suppressing giggles. Nico was rolling around on the ground. Rachel just stood there, smiling.

"You know," she said, "Hephaestus should make a soap opera about you two. You guys are so cliche that you would be a hit."


	2. Funny Looking

**A/N: Hiya everyone! This drabble takes place after TLO, and let's pretend that TLH never happened for a few minutes. **

**Before we get started, I need to tell you that THIS IDEA IS NOT MINE! This drabble is my version of lucyblue22's story **_**I didn't look that funny! Did I? **_**She was generous enough to let me rewrite it, so go check that story out sometime or PM her if you like the idea. **

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own PJO or the idea and main plot for this story. PJO belongs to the fabulous Rick Riordan and this story idea/plot belongs to lucyblue22. **

Funny Looking

Percy's POV

It was my first day back at Camp Half Blood for the summer. I had already said hi to Grover and Juniper, taught a sword fighting class to the Hermes' kids, and spent a few minutes alone with my girlfriend Annabeth. Even the Hunters had shown up. At dinner later that night, I realized the only person I hadn't seen was Nico. After Hades got a cabin at camp, Nico started staying at camp all year instead of with the dead down in the Underworld. I was curious about where he was, since everyone thought he was at camp. So, when Annabeth went back to her cabin to go over some more blueprints for Olympus, I headed over to the Hades cabin. I rapped on the door.

"Hey Nico!" I called, "It's me, Percy! Where have you been all day, man?"

"Percy!" Nico said from inside, "Hi! I didn't know you were here! How've you been?"

I blinked. He'd avoided my question. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Percy, I'm fine! What makes you say that?" Nico replied nervously. His voice cracked on the "i" in "fine" and the "o" in "you". I snickered.

"Nico, just come out here, ok?"

"No!"

"NICO!"

"I'm not coming out Percy!"

"GET. OUT. HERE. NOW!" I yelled. "Or I'm coming in after you!"

I heard a sigh come from inside, and Nico said, "How tall am I?" I blinked again. That was an odd question, even for Nico.

"Um, like four foot seven? I don't know! I haven't seen you in what, six months?" I responded hesitantly.

"That's the problem! I think I grew!"

"What?"

"Oh, just come inside," Nico sighed. _Finally_, I thought to myself as I flung the door open. Nico was standing in front of me, looking pretty funny. He had grown about six inches, and was probably around 5'1 or 5'2. His arms were a lot longer than I remembered, and his feet were _huge._ His face was kind of breaking out, and his shaggy hair hung in his eyes. His aviator jacket seemed to fit better, but his jeans were so short on him that I could see his ankles. I tried to suppress my giggles, but just burst out laughing and ended up rolling on the floor.

"Not funny man!" he said, but his voice cracked again on the "a", making it kind of sound like a donkey bray and making me laugh harder. After a while, I finally composed myself enough to stand upright.

"Annabeth's gotta see this," I said, grinning. I grabbed his wrist and started towing him towards the Athena cabin. Nico struggled, but I was thankfully still stronger than him. He got out his sword, and blindly swung at my arm. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten I was invincible. The Stygian iron deflected off my skin and the sword was flung towards the Aphrodite cabin.

After a lot more squirming on Nico's part, we finally reached the Athena cabin. I knocked on the door, and Annabeth opened it, looking a bit miffed about being interrupted. I let go of Nico's arm and said, "Look at wittle Nico!" in a baby voice. She started to laugh, and I did too, but then I thought of something.

"Did I look this funny when I was Nico's age?" I said carefully. Annabeth nodded, grinning from ear to ear. Nico yelled, "HA!" and ran back to his cabin.

"Oh come on! Seriously?" I moaned as I watched Nico run away.


	3. Sword Fighting

**A/N: Sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth for awhile. I was busy with some things. Like school, and homework, and sports, and sleeping….. I promise that I'll do my best to update more often. Okay, on to the story. I came up with this in the middle of the night a few days ago. I wrote the main idea down on a tissue (couldn't find any paper) and decided to post it here. Read, review, and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like Rick Riordan to you?**

Sword Fighting

_Thwack_! His sword reached over to block her knife again.

"Really, Wise Girl? We've been fighting for the last twenty minutes! Can I get back to teaching the class now?" Percy asked as Annabeth took a few steps backwards. The campers, who had been watching on from the sidelines during the fight, were getting restless. Even though many had never seen the two duel before, it was getting old. Fast.

"No way, Seaweed Brain. You wanted some help demonstrating, and you decided to ask me. I thought you figured out a long time ago that I don't stop until I've won!" Annabeth replied, giggling a bit when she saw his exasperated look.

"But I was just supposed to disarm you!" he whined, desperate to save himself from the almost inevitable embarrassment that was sure to occur later on. "And you're always saying my brain is waterlogged. Don't you know me enough to know I don't catch on fast?"

"I admit that I did know you were obtuse. But we've fought enough that I thought you understood that I don't give up easily!" Annabeth took a few steps closer and feinted towards his chest, but at the last moment changed course for his neck. He parried the move once more with ease.

"But Annabeth," Percy continued, their blades still touching, "If we keep going, one, it would waste the last ten minutes of class, and two, it'll end in an embarrassing situation!"

"Oh, really? Like what?"

"Like we'll chase each other around camp until I throw you in the lake. Or you pull an Annabeth," Percy got a bit of a dreamy look on his face, then scowled, "and disarm me!"

"Whatever," Annabeth said, backing away a bit with a devious gleam in her eye, "I still want to win!" she lunged at Percy again, this time catching his blade and maneuvering her way so it appeared that she was going to knock Riptide right out of his hand. Next, she did something that shocked the horde of newbie swordsmen.

Annabeth leaned over, and gave Percy a very sweet, passionate kiss on the lips. A collective gasp came from the campers, who were now paying rapt attention to the spectacle in front of them. His determined expression melted into one of unfocused bliss, as he kissed her back, dropping his sword to put his arms around her. They continued to make out for a few minutes, until Annabeth pulled away. Her knife was at his throat.

"I win!" she said, and then sprinted out of the practice arena. Percy continued to stand there with a goofy grin spread across his face, until a Demeter kid said, "Dude! Go after her!"

Percy snapped out of his love-induced trance, realizing for the first time what his girlfriend had done. "ANNABETH!" he called, and then ran out after her.

* * *

><p>Annabeth's hiding place was perfect. She was sitting next to Thalia's tree with her magic Yankee's cap on. Peleus the guard dragon disliked Percy very much, so the chance of him coming up on the hill soon was minimal. Plus, she would be able to see him coming from far away, and could run from her spot quickly before Percy even reached the top of the hill. She had everything figured out.<p>

A fly buzzed around her face. Annabeth wasn't that afraid of bugs (other than spiders, of course) as long as she wasn't touching them. What she didn't expect for, though, was the fly to smack into her nose.

"AAAGH!" she screamed as she swatted the bug away. She lost her balance and fell over, rolling down the hill, head over heels. She tried to right herself, but her efforts were in vain. Annabeth stopped with a thud against something hard. Her Yankee's cap flew off, and when she looked up, she was at the feet of one Percy Jackson.

_Of course, _she thought with distaste. Percy smiled.

"Hey, Annabeth! I was looking for you!" he said maliciously, then picked her up and slung her over his shoulder firefighter style. Annabeth was surprised; she didn't think that Percy was that strong. She started hitting his back with her fists, trying to touch his Achilles heel. If she could manage to touch it, she would be released and could run off towards her second hiding place—the Big House library.

"Percy! Let me go!" she cried.

"I will, Wise Girl. But first we need to make it back to the arena." he replied, smirking a bit.

"WHAT?" Annabeth yelled, turning several heads as they passed by the cabins. "Why?"

"You need to explain to my class that the move you used," -Percy scowled at this—"was one you invented, and shouldn't really be used in normal combat; I don't think a kiss would have the same effect on anyone else, unfortunately."

Annabeth sighed. "Fine. But you've got to tell me something."

"Name it."

"Isn't the arena closer to the woods? We're heading towards the lake." Annabeth's eyes widened. "Oh no, Percy, you aren't going to— AAAGH!" The last part was because Percy had unceremoniously dumped his girlfriend into the water. She surfaced, and then spluttered out some water from her mouth.

Percy leaned down towards her face. "Told you this would end like this." He said, right before Annabeth pulled him in by his shirt.


	4. Prank War

**A/N: Hola readers! I don't have much to say today about this chapter. I came up with it while I was watching Big Time Rush. It's so cliché sometimes that you can't help but laugh. I get a lot of good ideas from that show. Read, review, and enjoy**!

**Disclaimer: If I owned PJO, do you think I would be on this website? No! I'd be working on the real TSON so everyone wouldn't have to wait till OCTOBER 2011 to read it. **

Prank War

Annabeth was nervous as Hades. She had been pacing up and down the top of Half Blood Hill for the past hour, and Percy still hadn't showed. About two weeks ago, Percy had gotten a call from his mom asking him to come home for a few days, stating that there was something very important she needed to tell him. Nobody at camp (well, besides Chiron, who wasn't saying anything) had heard from him since. Annabeth was deathly afraid that he had disappeared again, like when he and Jason got swapped before the last war. It had taken months for him to regain his memory, and those months were some of the worst of her life. She didn't stop pacing, or hyperventilating, or making wild assumptions about where he might have been until she heard a car honk come from behind her. As she turned around, Annabeth could have sworn that her heart had stopped pumping, but it restarted after she saw the navy blue pickup truck with the dented fender, and more importantly, the black haired man who was sitting behind the wheel.

"PERCY!" she screamed as she sprinted down towards the street, "Where the Hades have you been? You didn't call or IM or write or—" Annabeth was cut off when her boyfriend kissed her squarely on the lips. He had gotten out of his truck and met her on the passenger's side. The kiss wasn't forceful, but after a fortnight of being somewhat alone, Annabeth was left breathless only after a few seconds and had to break away. She made a mental note to get more practice later.

"She's pregnant," Percy said, grinning like a madman.

"Who's pregnant?"

"My mom! I'm going to have a sibling!" he proclaimed, giving Annabeth an overwhelming hug.

"Oh my gods! Percy! This is such good news! Why didn't you tell me earlier, and why were you away for so long?" Annabeth said with excitement in her voice. She understood that Percy had felt lonely at times when he was at home during the year, or even sometimes at camp. The only real brother he had was Tyson, and Tyson hadn't been around all that much since the Titan War. The idea of Percy being a big brother was a very happy thought.

"Mom told me the day I got back. I had to stay in New York because she and Paul moved into a bigger apartment downtown so they would have room for the baby. I actually did call—don't you check your phone?" Percy asked quizzically. Annabeth blushed. If she remembered correctly, her phone was at the bottom of her suitcase; it was most likely out of battery and on vibrate as well. It just wasn't convenient to have a cell phone on you all the time when you were a demigod; she didn't want to attract any monsters. "I kind of, uh, forgot about my phone," she admitted sheepishly.

Percy laughed. "Seriously? I didn't think that a daughter of Athena could forget anything!"

"Shut up!" Annabeth smacked him on the arm. He rubbed it as if it had hurt, chuckled, and then walked around the truck to go and grab his duffel bag.

"I missed you too, Annabeth. I missed you too."

* * *

><p>"So, what did I miss while I was at my mom's?" Percy questioned as they sauntered over towards the Poseidon cabin. Annabeth could tell that he was still giddy about the whole "baby" thing. She smiled.<p>

"Not much. Some new campers arrived a week or so after you left; the Hunters came by for a few days—"

"Whoa, the Hunters came to camp?" Percy interrupted, stopping for a moment, "Why didn't you guys tell me earlier?"

"We couldn't contact you! And besides, the Hunters won Capture the Flag anyways." Annabeth countered, making her boyfriend pout. "Now there is something I have to warn you about."

"What?"

"The Demeter and Hermes cabins have been in a prank war for the last four days," Annabeth stated calmly, as if this kind of thing happened all the time. Unfortunately, it did.

Percy groaned. "Again?"

"Look for yourself," she replied, moving him so he faced the two warring cabins. There was toilet paper hanging off of Demeter's roof, and little plastic figurines of barnyard animals strewn all over. The Hermes cabin was covered in ivy (even the door) and was tinted a violent shade of green.

He groaned again. "How did it start this time?"

"I'll tell you once we get in your cabin. It's not really safe to be out right now," Annabeth said, making Percy raise an eyebrow. She sighed, and pulled him through the door.

"Why isn't it safe?"

"The campers are getting more and more paranoid. If anyone even passes their cabins anymore they'll go into full out assault mode." Annabeth answered as she made sure the door was secure.

"Let me guess; Travis did something to Katie." Percy assumed, only half joking.

Annabeth nodded. "This time he and Conner painted all her gardening tools pink and replaced her seeds with plastic gemstones. Not one of their best pranks, but it was enough to tick Katie off. That night, she and some of her siblings snuck over to the Hermes cabin and make poison ivy grow in their beds. They were itching and scratching all morning until they found some ambrosia and figured out who did it. And then the war started."

"Why can't Katie and Travis just realize they like each other and stop doing this kind of thing? I mean, come on! Prank wars are crazy," Percy complained as he dropped his duffel bag at the foot of his bunk and then flopped on the bed. Annabeth walked over and sat next to him. She fingered the streak of gray in his hair.

"I don't know Percy, but it gets worse," she mumbled, obviously not happy about this either. "Other cabins are starting to pick sides. If the stupid war doesn't end soon, we all may end up fighting each other." Percy shuddered at the thought of the Ares kids getting into the fight.

"What about Mr. D and Chiron? Can't they stop this?"

"Mr. D's on Olympus until the end of the week. He has no clue about what's going on. Chiron, on the other hand, tried earlier to make the Demeter and Hermes kids call a truce a day or two into fighting. It didn't end too well," Annabeth said.

"Huh?"

"Chiron ended up getting locked in the stables with various cosmetics on his face and several plants binding him to the wall. We got him out of there, but he hasn't wanted to intervene since. I think he's waiting until Mr. D comes back before he starts laying down the law." Percy couldn't help but laugh at the mental image that conjured up. He felt sort of bad for the old centaur. Chiron had been training young demigods for thousands of years, and yet he couldn't save himself when those same demigods decided to ignore his advice and lock him away.

"So, what are we going to do?" he asked after a while.

Annabeth shrugged. "Wait it out, I guess. If we get involved, not even your invulnerability would help us out of it."

Percy sighed. "Fine. But I'm going to dinner, prank war or no prank war. I'm starving."

* * *

><p>Early the next morning, Percy was awoken to someone banging on his door. After silently cursing the person for waking him up at this ungodly hour and sliding some jeans on over his boxers, he walked over and opened the door. Annabeth stood there, her Yankee's cap in hand and her face a bit flushed. It grew even redder at the sight of Percy's bare chest.<p>

"Whutsgoinon?" he asked, still a bit sleepy.

"You need to see this," Annabeth said, pointedly looking away, "But first you need to get a shirt on."

Percy looked down, and blushed when he realized he was shirtless. He ran back into his cabin, grabbed a CHB t-shirt out of his duffel bag, pulled it on, and headed back out. "Sorry 'bout that," he muttered, "I'm not fully awake before 9 am."

"It's okay. Let's just go!" Annabeth snapped. She grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the Demeter cabin. As the pair approached the scene, Percy saw that a crowd had grown around five people; Chiron, Travis, Conner, Katie, and most surprising of all, Mr. D.

"I thought you said he was going to be on Olympus for the rest of the week!" Percy whisper-shouted to Annabeth.

"I thought he was!" Annabeth whispered back.

"But he's—"

"I know! Shut up, I want to hear!" Annabeth said as she kicked his leg. He reached down and started rubbing the spot where her foot hit. Man, Annabeth could kick _hard_.

Mr. D looked mad. "What in Zeus' name is going on here, Thomas?" he yelled at Travis.

"Mr. D, we were just—" Katie started. Percy had just noticed that she was dripping wet, as were most of her siblings behind her. It looked like the Stolls had set water balloon traps in the Demeter cabin overnight, which not only soaked the entire cabin, but provoked Mr. D as well.

"Shut it, Kassidy! I asked Thomas, not you! Now, what is going on here?" Mr. D repeated.

Travis was dumbfounded. He just stood there with his mouth gaping like a fish. Conner wasn't doing much better. Eventually, Mr. D must have gotten bored, so he demanded, "Well?"

"Um, we were having a friendly prank war?" Travis responded, making it sound more like a question.

The god of wine growled. "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID NO PRANK WARS!" he screamed. Percy could practically see him trembling, trying to keep his true form from exploding out of him. The three campers in his direct line of fire were shaking almost as much. Chiron finally said, "Mr. D, I think it is best—"

"Shut it, centaur! I think this deserves severe punishment!" Mr. D was now vibrating rapidly, and almost everyone knew he wasn't going to keep it together much longer. He snapped his fingers, and a look of realization swept over his face. "I've got it!"

"LOOK AWAY!" Annabeth wisely called into the crowd. Everyone did as she instructed, except for the Stolls and Katie, who were too terrified to move. There was a bright flash of light, and then the god and the three demigods were gone.

* * *

><p>About a week later, Percy was sitting on the beach, watching the water slosh back and forth. Annabeth strolled over and plopped herself down next to her boyfriend.<p>

"Hey," she said.

Percy smiled. "Hey."

"Did you hear? I think they're punishment is almost over." Annabeth mentioned. Percy didn't ask who she was talking about; it had been the general discussion at camp ever since word had slipped out that Katie Gardener and Conner and Travis Stoll had gone missing. The war therefore ended, as the leaders of both sides were the only ones who could really control their siblings and cabin mates. Percy laughed.

"Ha, I did. How do you think they liked being a bottle of wine for a week?" he responded.

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm not sure. I would definitely hate it though."

"Oh really? Would you care to say why?" Percy inquired. Annabeth giggled.

"Because I would miss you, Seaweed Brain!" she replied, as if it were obvious (which it was, it was just that Percy had wanted to hear it straight from her). Percy leaned over and connected his lips with hers.

"I'd miss you too Annabeth." He said when broke apart. "Plus, it would suck to not be able to practice sword fighting," he added, making Annabeth slap his arm.


	5. Lost Clothes

**A/N: Um, hi you guys. Sorry for the sudden hiatus. I've spent the last month either twirling a flag, pitching a softball, studying for finals, or sleeping. I have had literally no time to sit down and write, except for my beta-ing duties (which I have to do) or the occasional essay for English. Oh well— I'm back now, and school's going to be out soon anyways, so expect more from me!**

**This drabble is…. a bit random, compared to the others I've done. I honestly have no idea where it came from. One second I was sitting on the couch, and then **_**POOF! **_**It came to me. Read, review, and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. Don't make me say it again this chapter. **

Lost Clothes

Percy was digging through his dresser drawer, trying to find his beloved camp t-shirt. He knew it was here somewhere. He just put it away a few days ago, after a much needed washing (hey, who knew that blue Coke stained?). After a few minutes, Percy gave up on the drawer and started rifling through the dirty piles of clothes strewn across the cabin.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Percy yelled, quickly dropping the handful of boxers he had and kicking them under the nearest bunk. Annabeth walked in, and she did not look very happy.

"Seaweed Brain, have you seen my gray high-tops?" she asked, looking around the floor.

Percy shook his head. "Nope, sorry. But I lost my camp shirt too. Have you seen it?"

"You're wearing it," Annabeth pointed out, tugging on his sleeve to prove her point.

He rolled his eyes. "Let me rephrase that. Have you seen my _favorite_ camp shirt? Y'know, the one with the hole on the hem?"

"Oh, then no, I haven't," Annabeth said. Her eyes suddenly widened. "I wonder if anyone else is missing any clothing."

"What do you mean?" Percy inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, has anyone else lost something they really like? You lost your favorite shirt. I lost my favorite pair of shoes. Maybe…..hm…" Annabeth trailed off. She leaned against the bedpost, a thoughtful expression etched across her face.

Percy snapped his fingers in front of his girlfriend's face a few times. "Hello? Earth to Wise Girl!" he called, making her jump a bit.

"What Percy? I'm trying to think!" Annabeth snapped, obviously annoyed with her boyfriend for rudely interrupting the tiny little idea that was forming in her head.

"Jeez, sorry," he said, backing away a bit. "You can do your thinking later. I just heard the conch. We need to get to dinner."

She sighed. "Kay. Let's go."

* * *

><p>The dining pavilion was buzzing by the time the duo showed up. It seemed like everyone was missing something. Katie had lost her gardening gloves; Will's basket ball jersey somehow disappeared; one of the satyrs was whining about how his disco pants were misplaced; even Connor's flying sneakers were gone. The only people who weren't complaining were Aphrodite's kids. Percy did a double take when he passed their table.<p>

_That's weird_, he thought as he sat down at his empty table, _I thought the Aphrodite kids would be freaking out the most. _He looked over to where Annabeth was at the Athena table. She was staring at the Aphrodite cabin like they had gotten beamed down from space. She suddenly looked over towards him, and when their eyes met, he knew that she was thinking the same thing. Annabeth bobbed her head towards the head table, where Chiron was about to announce the start of dinner.

Chiron stomped his hoof against the table, making everyone turn their heads towards him. "Good evening, campers! Before we start eating, I have a few announcements to make. Capture the flag is still on for this Friday-," there were several hoots and bursts of excited yelling across the pavilion at various tables.

"Yes, yes, settle down now," Chiron said placidly, "And also, there have been a series of burglaries over the last few days." A murmur went up across the crowd. No doubt they were all telling their friends about what they had lost. The Aphrodite kids were acting strangely; they were stone silent and were fidgeting a little bit.

The old centaur cleared his throat to gain attention. "Well, if anyone has any information about this, please come and speak to me after dinner. Now, let our meal begin!" He clapped his hands, and the nature spirits appeared with the food. Once Percy had served himself, he went up to the burner and sacrificed some of his meal, as usual. What wasn't usual about that one particular time was, instead of just praying to Poseidon, he also prayed to Hermes (the god of thieves), that the crooks would be exposed soon.

After dinner, Percy continued to sit at his table, waiting for Annabeth. Sure enough, the blonde slid in the bench next to him right as Mr. D (who was surprisingly quiet throughout the meal) and Chiron left the pavilion.

"Why do you think the Aphrodite cabin was action so weird?" Annabeth questioned.

Percy shrugged in reply. "No good clue. You know I'm not the best at thinking."

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, I do." She smiled at his faux bewildered look.

"Why Annabeth, I'm hurt," he said, putting a hand over his chest dramatically. She giggled indignantly at his theatrics and smacked his arm.

"Stop that, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth's grin widened, "I actually do have an idea, and if I'm right, then I think we found our thieves."

"Oh really?" Percy asked inquisitorially. "And what is your idea?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and let out a snort. "All in good time, Perce. I'll tell you later, when there aren't as many people around." Percy knew she was talking about coming over to his cabin in the middle of the night— she did that most of the time.

Percy smirked. "Okay then. Bye Annabeth." He got up, kissed his girlfriend on the cheek, and then went back to his cabin. If what he had in mind was going to happen, then he had a bit of cleaning up to do.

* * *

><p>After curfew, most of the camp was asleep, or at least, trying to be quiet. The Aphrodite cabin, however, was doing the opposite. All the lights were on. The bunks and trunks were pushed against the far walls, and a catwalk was set up in the middle. On the catwalk were at least a dozen manikins, all dressed in the clothes all the other campers were missing.<p>

"Okay everybody!" Drew, one of Aphrodite's daughters, called out to the crowd of chattering siblings, "Let's start this off!" She was the only living person on the catwalk, but by the way she was posed, she looked like one of the manikins.

"Drew!" Piper, the head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin, yelled from her spot next to the bathroom. "What the heck are you doing?"

Drew made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat. "Having a fashion show, of course! I thought it would be cute if we got everyone's favorite pieces of clothing and laughed at the stupid ones. For example," she walked over to a manikin on the left side of the runway. "these sequin pants are to die for! That is, if you want to make sure you'll never see them again!" A ripple of giggles went through the cabin at Drew's snarky joke.

Piper frowned. "That's not funny! These clothes belong to other people! How on earth did you steal all of them?"

Drew gave an evil grin, and flipped her dark curly hair over her shoulder. "Charmspeak is very useful, dear. I just talked to some of the Hermes kids, and then the clothes just started rolling in!"

"Drew, this is wrong! If you don't take all this junk down and give all the clothes back, then—"

Drew sneered, "What are you going to do? So what if I lose my dessert privilege—" – more giggles came from the crowd—"—or have to work in the kitchen for a few weeks. It won't matter at all." She smirked a bit at her sister's apparent defeat.

Piper, refusing to give up, elbowed her way to the catwalk, and stood face to face with Drew. She whipped out Katoptris for extra effect. "Do you remember when Katie and the Stolls had that prank war? They all got in serious trouble, and got changed into bottles of wine! I _do not_ want that happening to our entire cabin. If you don't do as I say _right now_, I am going to march you over to the Big House, turn you in, and have you transformed just like those guys!"

Piper's charmspeak was seeping through into her words. Her siblings felt the ripple effect and almost immediately started shout praise for their sister for standing up to Drew once again.

Drew gulped. "I…. Fine, McLean. But some day, I will get you back for this."

Piper gave her sister a cheeky smile. "You've said that before. And I'm still waiting!" As she said the last part, she outstretched her arms to show her unharmed body. Drew gave her sister one final glare before turning around and starting to disassemble a nearby manikin.

* * *

><p>The next day, Percy opened up his cabin door and found a familiar orange bundle sitting on the doormat. He gingerly picked it up and unfolded it. It was his missing camp t-shirt.<p>

He blinked a couple times, running his hands over the worn fabric. Sure enough, when he got to the hem there was a hole, hardly noticeable, from where he had tripped and landed on a javelin in the arena.

Percy smiled a bit to himself. He then glanced around at all the other cabins. At the base of every door, there was a pile of clothes belonging to the cabin's inhabitants.

_It looks like the thief came clean after all, _Percy thought as he walked back inside.


End file.
